Leakages due to failure of oil and gas well heads are common these days. Such leakages pose environmental and geological hazards and are required to be plugged within a short period of time. In the case where a leakage occurs in a subsea oil well, the damage caused by the leakage is magnified due to slick formation on surface of the sea. Leakages are plugged by placing plugs on the oil well heads and using relief pipes for transporting oil away from the oil well heads.
However, due to pressure at which oil emerges out from the leaking oil well heads, the plugs are inefficient at stopping flow of oil from the failed oil well head. Further, the plugs are a temporary solution for stopping the flow of oil until a normal oil extracting apparatus is installed in the oil well head.
Therefore, there is a need for an efficient method and apparatus for plugging leaking oil and gas wells.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.